The push/pull of Republican Obama love

You may have heard that CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) recently held its annual meeting in Washington, DC. Their conference slogan is "A blockbuster event enjoyed by all!"

They also sold hats and shirts and lots of fun souvenirs. It's no news that they poked fun at Hillary Clinton. (Personally I think the Hillary "nutcracker" is awesome!) But here's a little peek into what the else the fall may bring, my friends, via Digby:



I know what you're saying: "Wait, I thought the Republicans like Obama?" It sure is confusing. One the one hand we have Peggy Noonan, George Will, and David Brooks saying wonderful things about Barack Obama. And now on the other hand we have the Republican rank and file gnashing their teeth in anticipation of lampooning and ridiculing him. Hmmm. It's almost as if the pundits are setting up Obama just to attack him in November.

I'm just sayin'.

Republican Congresswoman: "Work harder, not smarter!"

It's no wonder that the American people feel jaded and cynical when it comes to politicians' promises. I mean, just take the new Republican proposal to jump start the economy, called the Middle Class Job Protection Act, which does nothing for the middle class. From ThinkProgress:

Today, Rep. Eric Cantor (VA), the chief deputy Republican whip in the House, unveiled his proposal to stimulate the economy. His legislation — the so-called Middle Class Job Protection Act — does nothing for the middle class. Instead, it reduces the corporate tax rate by 28 percent.

At a press conference today unveiling the stimulus proposal, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) justified the conservative plan to give tax breaks to corporations — instead of working Americans — by arguing that people actually like working long hours:

I am so proud to be from the state of Minnesota. We’re the workingest state in the country, and the reason why we are, we have more people that are working longer hours, we have people that are working two jobs.

Bachmann’s version of the American Dream is apparently working two full-time jobs and struggling to get by.

Next I suppose we'll be hearing how much better behaved our children were when they had jobs, too.

Those were the days!

So they're all crocodiles then?

From USA Today:
A tear runs down President Bush's cheek as he takes part in a Medal of Honor Ceremony for Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham of Scio, N.Y., Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.














I was searching teh Internets for pictures of "crying politicians" and came across this great posting from last February. H/T to fubar at Needlenose:

What is it with Republicans and crying? Weren't they supposed to be the tough ones? Instead, we keep hearing stories about them crying.

Remember Martha-Ann Alito running out of the room at the confirmation hearing of Justice Samuel Alito:

Funny thing is that they blamed the heartless Democrats for making her cry, when it was Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who was doing all the talking. Go figure.

Then there was Randy "Duke" Cunningham:

Fubar's got lots more. Check it out here.

Right Wing Pundit on Hillary: "At least call her a Vaginal-American"

It looks like the gloves have come off, and the Hillary Clinton haters are now showing their true colors. As far as we have come in this country to treat everyone as equals, it's now back to slamming Clinton because ... she's a woman! Gasp!

Watch the clip from Tucker here.

From Crooks and Liars:

This clip from Monday’s Tucker pegged the creepy/sexist meter. Right wing pundit Cliff May and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson were talking about Senator Hillary Clinton and whether or not it should matter that some women may vote for her based on her gender.

Tucker throws out a frat boy style genitalia joke and spouts off about women’s loyalty to the Clintons. Not to be outdone, May, who is as whacked out as they come in the GOP, tells Tucker he doesn’t think people should vote for a candidate based on their race, religion or gender — then burps this beauty across the table which is sure to have the ladies lining up to join the Republican Party:

May: “At least call her a Vaginal-American.”

If anyone is still watching Tucker Carlson, please stop. Or explain to me why you are watching. He's immature, homophobic, sexist, and no, he can't dance. A recent poll showed that 94% of women under age 34 say they're more likely to vote in the next presidential election if there's a woman on the ballot, and Tucker Carlson is skeered!

Vaginal-American? I try to keep it clean here, so does that mean I can call May a Penis-Head?

Just How Gay Is The GOP?

“Because baby, it just keeps popping up, scandal after scandal, homophobic lawmaker after anti-gay preacher after gay marriage attacker after hooker-loving “family values” adulterer, Bob Allen to Ted Haggard to Jim West to Glenn Murphy Jr. to David “Diaperman” Vitter, so many examples of a militant loudmouthed Christian Republican suddenly caught with his pants down around his boyfriend’s ankles that, after so many headlines, the notion that these cases might be rare or exceptional simply vanishes and you are left only with the undeniable fact that, oh my God, the American right is simply teeming with so much murky, pressure-cooked homoeroticism it might as well be a Young Republicans kegger at Mark Foley’s pink Miami Beach condo.”

Yowza! Catch your breath, and then read the rest of Mark Morford at the San Francisco Chronicle.

B.F. (Before Fred)

I didn't watch the Republican “debates” the other night, I admit it. I just can't see spending my time listening to this lineup of creepy old white men. All they seem to spout is self-righteous pablum about what America should be doing — while standing before us as the marriage-challenged (divorced), (divorced), (divorced), dysfunctional parent, law-breaking, animal abusing, lying liars that they are.

Sorry, is that too harsh? Remember, this is without Newt Gingrich in the race!

Instead, I suggest that you join me in visiting FactCheck.org after any of these debates, Republican or Democratic. They have a team of researchers checking on the many fantastical claims these candidates make. And boy do they make some claims!

• Rudy Giuliani said 2,000 illegal immigrants was the most the federal government deported from New York City during any of his years as mayor. That doesn't square with Department of Homeland Security figures. Giuliani also took a little too much credit for a drop in New York's welfare rolls.


• Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas tried to link gay marriage with an increase in children being born out of wedlock. His statistic, however, doesn't do that.

Check out the rest of the debate facts here.

Why do these men hate themselves so much?

Larry Craig. I've been thinking a lot about his problems today, and I've found that I actually feel sorry for him, and for all of the other right-wing conservative white men who have recently been caught in sex scandals.

It surprises me to feel sorry for them. They are, after all, the same people who spew hatred toward me and all other gay men and lesbians. They are the ones who deny us our most basic civil rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But as these scandals come to a head (if you'll excuse the expression) I see these men (for they all seem to be white men) for what they truly are: normal human beings with normal sexual feelings who hate themselves. They hate what they feel so much that they sneak around in bathrooms and with prostitutes and congressional pages, rather than accept who they are. I don't know who's gay, bisexual, or just “curious.” And honestly, I don't care.

What I do care about is that these are all men of power, and they have all turned their self-loathing outward toward the rest of us. Larry Craig has a long history of questionable behavior, summarized by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

During all his years in Congress, there have been questions about Craig's personal life. At the same time, he was voting for the federal amendment banning gay marriage (the first time an amendment has ever been introduced to deny citizens rights), opposing allowing gays or lesbians in the military, as well as voting against extending civil rights protections to homosexuals in the workplace.

The extremists in the conservative Christian faction have created an atmosphere of hatred toward gays and lesbians that is so strong its own members are forced to troll bathrooms looking for sex rather than accept their normal human sexuality. Add to that the fact that these men are also covering up their behavior by focusing their fervor and hate toward the gay community.

As a gay person, that's not just pathetic. It's downright scary.

[UPDATED] Just in: Republicans Kill Webb's Troop-Protection Amendment

From The Huffington Post:

Just moments ago, Senate Republicans succeeded in a filibuster in which they refused to end debate on Virginia Democrat Jim Webb's S. 2012, which would have placed strict limits on National Guard and reserve deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as mandating more downtime at home before active-duty combat troops are returned to battle.

The vote was 56-41 to end debate, with 60 votes needed to move to a full, up-or-down vote on the Webb measure. Once again, the GOP has been successful at destroying another Democratic attempt at helping service members and their families caught in the buzzsaw of the Bush administration's lies and incompetence.

So let me get this straight: The Senate was 4 votes shy of deciding whether to vote on this Amendment?! This was not even the actual vote on the amendment, but the vote on whether to vote. Yep. Your tax dollars at work folks.

And by the way, what was in S. 2012? Oh, just that active duty troops have at least the same time at home as the length of their previous tour of duty overseas. Is that so undreasonable to the Republicans that they cannot even agree to vote on the idea?

Here is the list the votes. See how your folks voted.